Mayors of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) welcome Quebec’s commitment to absorb 70% of the transportation deficit by 2024. However, they urge the government to base its calculations on real deficits, an element that is still controversial.
Late on Friday afternoon, a few hours after the government presented the “final offer” to the municipalities on the delicate issue of public transport financing, the mayors of the CMM, which represents 82 municipalities in the metropolitan region, appeared cautious.
“The municipalities in the metropolitan region are taking part out of solidarity […] “Act and welcome the government’s commitment to pay 70% of the transport companies’ deficit for 2024 and reiterate that this agreement must be made on the basis of the actual deficit,” the CMM said in a short press release. “An urgent regulation is to be expected as part of the municipal budgets to be presented in the coming weeks. »
For its part, the Quebec Urban Transport Association intends to analyze the offer, but believes that the structural deficiencies are not due to poor management on the part of transport companies, but rather to government contributions that have been “crumbling” for years.
Performance tests
On Friday morning, Quebec made a “final offer” to cities by proposing to cover 70% of the expected 2024 deficits of Quebec’s 10 public transport companies. The government therefore proposed to pay an amount of 265 million dollars for the 400 million claimed by the cities.
“I think it is a significant effort considering that we are negotiating with the Common Front and public sector workers. And we have a lot of expenses related to education, health and our missions,” explained the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, in the morning.
The Legault government also wants to know what is happening in the transport companies and take a closer look at their management. Quebec therefore intends to impose performance audits on the ten transport companies and the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority in order to reduce their structural deficiencies.
We can’t just pour endless amounts of money into these deficits. We need to examine ourselves, restructure financing and find ways to save at the source.
“We can’t just pour endless amounts of money into these deficits. We need to look at ourselves, restructure financing and find ways to save at the source,” she said. The minister also plans to set up a joint committee to look at optimization solutions. “It can not go on like this. Public funds must be carefully managed. »
Geneviève Guilbault stressed that transport companies subordinate to municipalities have made decisions over which the government has no right to review. She specifically mentioned Montreal’s free public transit for seniors and high executive salaries.
As for the risks of reducing services advocated by municipalities, such as closing the subway at 11 p.m. and reducing the number of buses, the minister stressed that the decision lies with transport companies. “It is up to [elles] to make their decisions,” she explained, while suggesting that they “adapt the offer to the habits of users after the pandemic.”
The cities asked the government for help to offset the projected deficit of an estimated $2.5 billion over five years. Quebec had originally proposed covering 20% of the remaining public transport deficit for the period 2024-2028.
With the Canadian Press